lucielou

I just thought i'd ask all you good folks on fodors, have you any advice about flying. For the past 4 flights i've taken in the past 18 months, i've ended up with at worst, a chest infection, or at least a cold that has lasted a few days, my doctor tells me its the reconditioned air in planes, I dont want to stop flying, but the last chest infection I got was really nasty and i ended up off work for 2 weeks, and quite sick, I'm now nervous about flying this summer, does anyone else have the same problem,and how have you dealt with it? Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. Thanks.
Lucie

ira

Hi L,

You could wear a mask.

You need to stay hydrated and keep your nasal passages moist.

My Lady Wife puts Vicks in her nose.

StCirq

Well, I'm no expert, as I haven't had so much as a sniffle for more than 25 years (knock on wood), but I have frequent flier friends who swear by Zicam.

LoveItaly

Hi lucielou, a doctor we had that was also a friend strongly suggested using Ocean saline spray when flying. An OTC med. Many people I know seem to have the same problem you do, fortunatly I don't. But how miserable!

maitaitom

I used to get sick often after airplane flights. A couple of years ago, I started loading up on Airborne before flights (and conventions where you have to meet a lot of people).

Maybe it is just a coincidence, but in those two years, the only time I got sick after a flight was when I forgot to take Airborne.

suze

ask your doctor. wear a mask. saline nasal spray. Airborne or Emergen-C. maybe even one of those crazy air filter deals you hang around your neck that they sell in travel supply magazines??

SuzieCII

saline spray (and frankly pushed into a corner with liquid restrictions I used my contact lens juice!) and Airborne. Keep you hands clean and don't rub your eyes if you can help it.
I'm in your boat, if someone on the plane has a cold, they will sit immediately behind me.

LoveItaly

I "think" that Ocean Saline spray or any other brand would be considered a med and consequently could be put into the Ziploc bag for medications versus the Quart size Ziploc bag for makeup and toiletries.

missmissy

My doc swears that using saline nose spray prior to flying; putting a bit of Vicks into each nostril; loading up on vitamin C ( which is all airborne really is --- even though, I tend to use this, too ); drinking lots of water; and avoid using the blankets and pillows supplied on the plan will help you avoid getting sick. Also, lots of handwashing and purell hand gel/wipes. All made more difficult now to the new rules on liquids on planes. UGH. I also end up sitting next to someone sick and think grrrrrreaaaaaaat. I wish those people were required to wear a mask, rather than hacking all over me! haha

Christina

Have you by any chance asked your doctor what you should do? Why don't you get his or her advice, since that is where this theory came from that it is the air on planes. There s more to this than that, as I've never gotten sick from flying that I can recall, and don't have colds when I get home from a trip. So there is something about you that is lending yourself to these illnesses. I know some people are prone to bronchitis (my niece is) or something, but I don't quite understand how that works genetically.

I'm sure there are more germs when you are out in public, that's the way it works, and the main advice is to wash your hands frequently, and avoid touching things that might have a lot of germs (things in the bathroom, etc), and especially then putting your fingers near your mouth (or eyes, perhaps).

It isn't really that easy to catch a cold just from germs being in the air, I've read a lot of studies on that in medical journals. There are probably more risks in the departure lounge than on the plane, and the issue probalby isn't the recirculated air but the people around you (and the lack of recirculated air, actually, the more frequently it goes through the system, the better). If it were ventilated or passed through the system at a faster rate, some studies suggest it would cut down on illness rates, but that isn't the main place people get respiratory infections, anyway, when they travel.

So if you think this is just due to the flying and the air circulation system, I think that is a wrong assumption.If your doctor claimed that was the reason for your illness as a fact, I'd get a new doctor.

Dukey

I think you need to ask your doctor to explain the fact that colds are more likely than not picked up by you innoculating your hands on a surface contaminated with the cold virus and then transferring that to the mucous membranes of your eyes and or nose which can, and does, happen in many places.

A true respiratrory infection, however you are defining that term, may very well have been picked up by breathing in pathogens on a plane.

However, I suspect that not everybody on those flights who was breathing <b>the same air that you were</b> came down with an infection and/or a cold.

So, what to think? Perhaps there is something about you that makes you more prone to these problems than others?

Do you ahve a history of upper respiratory problems?

Asthmatic?

Smoker?/Ex-smoker?

All sort of possibilities.

As to wearing a mask; many do not filter out viral particles so unless you have one which does it probably won't help much. And, consider the possibility of the airline not allowing you to fly at all with a mask on.

ira

Hi Dukey,

&gt;..consider the possibility of the airline not allowing you to fly at all with a mask on.

Why would they not permit someone to don a mask after boarding the plane?

sandi_travelnut

I always have &quot;Ocean&quot; and carried it in my ziplock back with the other liquids in Jan. with no problem. My sinuses get so dry that I think it helps to prevent issues for me.

Betty_Gjesdal

I have become sick after flying the last four times. I fly frequently to Michigan from California. Usually starts with a sore throat and develops into a very bad head and chest cold. I often end up having to go to the doctor for antibiotics. Though I would Google and see if anyone else has this problem. I am almost afraid to fly again. Wondering if it is the germs on the plane or the change from one place to another.

Betty_Gjesdal

I wash my hands at every stop and bathroom use and use the saline spray. I even take Emergency C with my water.

hetismij

Why would you get antibiotics for a cold? That is misuse of antibiotics, and contributing to resistant bacteria.

The thought of sitting sniffing Vicks on a flight is really awful, nearly as bad as saline solution.

I have never had an infection from a flight. During the flu scare a couple of years ago doctors gave the excellent advice of using the jet of air you can control yourself - and have that going just in front of your nose - you are then breathing filtered air which is moving from top to bottom thereby greatly reducing the chances of breathing in anything nasty.
Obviously good hand hygiene is of paramount importance.

Very often colds are picked up before you travel and it becomes apparent on arrival, so you blame the flight.

meadixit

You (Betty_Gjesdal) are just giving the exact symptoms I get when I fly. Soar throat followed by a bad cold. Last time I tried everything, did not touch anything, washed my hands frequently, was wearing a mask, used a hand sanitizer to clean the seat, took my own pillow and blanket, was drinking lots of fluids ... and I got sick 2 days later !!
I did not use to have this problem, it started in recent years, like 3 to 4 years ago and on long flights. Lots of people I know from work are having the same problem but they don't get it as bad as I do, I think. I am starting to suspect the new generation Airplanes. They must have tried to cut the coast of fuel consumption and messed up the air circulation. The air on airplanes did not use to feel so dry nor did I use to hear of people getting sick systematically after flying. I am not sure who to complain to about this issue !

Ackislander

Not to continue an ancient thread, but lots of us get infections while we travel. Lots of us are anxious about flying. We put the two together and find a cause where there may only be a correlation.

We have just spent days -- including the airport --around lots of strangers who have different viruses than the ones we have grown immune to at home. We have been riding public transportation with people in our faces, eating strange foods, and sleeping odd hours. How often do you get as close to a stranger as you do in an airplane?

I think the reduced air circulation idea has pretty much been shown to be a myth. Dry air is not. Keep your nose and your insides hydrated but be aware that most transmission is thought to be from your hands to your nose or eyes, not by droplets to dry noses. Non-alcohol hand sanitizers don't work. A little dab won't do ya with even with alcohol based sanitizers; you need a dollop and you need to rub it in for more than a minute. If it takes less, you aren't getting enough.

I am not a doctor, just a fellow sufferer who has studied the issue. My wife and I have started taking shorter trips, and I will say that I get fewer colds from shorter trips, suggesting that overall exposure is a major factor.